Keeping Him Safe
by JayyKuro
Summary: The Bau was tracking down an UnSub by the name of Willaim Reid. During his takedown, they discover his young son Spencer and begin uncovering all the years of his abuse, whilst also growing more attached to the child than they ever thought they would. However, people are after Spencer, people that would do anything to keep him from talking. (Kid Reid fic)
1. Chapter 1

"Clear!" Aaron heard Derek shout from the room beside him, and Aaron continued to look around with his gun held out protectively in front of him, making sure that he remained alert and prepared for the worse. The UnSub, William Reid was nowhere to be seen, but they were hoping that it wouldn't be the same for his latest victim; Angela Thompson. Aaron had been getting ready to shout 'clear' for William's room, but a slight noise from inside of it stopped him. He paused and held his breath as he listened, preparing for the UnSub to jump out at him. Instead, he was met with a light thumping that resounded from somewhere in the room.

He raised his gun in slight apprehension as another light thump rang throughout the room, and Aaron looked around to see where it could be coming from. He slowly lowered the weapon as he narrowed the location to a small chest in the corner of the room beside the bed, and he quickly rushed over, knowing that the chance of it being Angela was likely and inwardly berating himself for being so careless. They knew that William liked to keep his victims in small, dark places, and with Angela's petite stature, it wouldn't be impossible for her to be inside the chest (although a bit hard to do considering how small it was).

"Guys! I think I've got something in here!" He shouted to alert his team members before he looked for a way to open the chest, whilst the thumping became more and more frantic, proving his theory about someone being inside. He inwardly cursed to himself when he saw the lock keeping the chest tightly closed, although when he hastily looked around for a key (not thinking he was going to find one but searching just in case) he discovered that there were two of them on the nightstand by the bed, as if they had been thrown there carelessly or as a last minute decision.

Aaron didn't bother to care about why they were there though and simply snatched the keys from the table, taking the larger one first and attempting to maneuver it inside the lock. After a few brief moments of fumbling with it, Aaron realized that it wasn't going to work, so he grabbed the smaller key and jammed it into the lock, panic spreading through him as he realized that Angela probably had a limited amount of oxygen inside the chest.

Not even a minute had passed before the lock clicked, and he yanked it off before throwing the lid open, immediately being shocked by what he saw. Inside was a boy who couldn't be any older than four or five years old. His hands were bound tightly in front of him with rope, and a thick, metal collar was tightly secured around his thin neck. The young boy was also covered in blood and most likely urine from the putrid smell of it. Aaron hurried to get the boy out of the cramped space and he quickly reached his arms out in order to pick him up and get him out. That was Aaron's mistake, as the boy's eyes immediately widened, and he began shaking his head as he feebly attempted to push Aaron away.

"I'm sorry, I'll be good. I'll be good I promise! Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry- I'm sor-" the boy cut himself off with his own sobs as he attempted to press himself further into the box as if trying to make himself disappear, and Aaron felt his face fall at the brokenness of the small boy. No one should have to go through such a trauma, especially not a child.

"Hey, hey, hey. There's no need to be afraid, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you." Aaron said in a soft and soothing voice that was usually reserved for his own son, Jack. The boy looked up at that, although he quickly averted eye contact, as though he had been reminded of something.

"Help me? Are- are you going to take me away from here? The nice ladies th- that came here said that people were coming for them, but I couldn't believe them because no one has ever come for me." The boy whispered out, his voice so quiet that Aaron had to strain to hear him. Aaron couldn't help but question how long the boy had been here, as a male child didn't fit William's victimology in the slightest. His victims were petite, blonde women from the ages of twenty-three and thirty-five. There had been nothing about him that hinted that he liked kids, so it really came as a shock that there was one so terribly abused in his home, and his room no less.

"Well, we're here now. And we're going to take you to a place called a hospital so that you can get looked at and the doctors can help you. I'm here to protect you. No harm will come to you so long as I'm around." Aaron said, trying to keep his voice gentle as a ruckus was raised in the house, meaning that they must've found William. "Can I take the collar off your neck?" Aaron asked, holding the key up to show the boy. The child paled considerably and a look of sheer terror took over his face. He then tried to scramble away again, mumbling something under his breath that sounded like 'no' and 'I'm sorry'. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to get it off so that we can get you out of here, okay?" Aaron said, keeping his voice gentle despite the fact that the noise was getting louder and would most be coming into the room soon.

It took a few moments, but the boy eventually stopped trying to get away, and Aaron took that as his cue to continue. He quickly inserted the key into the lock and began fumbling with it to try and get the collar off as quickly as he could. As soon as it was off he threw the offending object away from the boy and watched as it skidded across the room, inwardly scoffing and detesting the fact that someone was so evil as to actually put a collar on a child, as though they were a dog and not a human. "Can I help you out of the box now?" Aaron asked, keeping his hands out to show the child that there was nothing in them, purposely keeping his movements slow in fear of upsetting the boy.

It didn't take as long for the young child to nod his head, and Aaron made sure that he moved slowly and carefully as he placed his hands underneath the boy's arms and lifted him out the box. Unsurprisingly, the boy was small and light, and Aaron didn't care that his clothes were probably being stained by blood and the other offending liquids that coated the child in a thick layer. The boy immediately wrapped his arms and legs around Aaron, his head buried in the crook of Aaron's neck.

Aaron considered it a big improvement, considering the fact that he hadn't expected the boy to allow himself to be touched at all and now Aaron was carrying him out the room without a single cry or struggle. "So buddy, what's your name?" Aaron asked as he grabbed a blanket from off the messy floor, wrapping it around the child to cover his bare form and provide him some sort of protection from the chill air outside.

"I'm Spencer… Spencer Reid." The child mumbled out quietly, and Aaron almost froze at that name. Was this kid really related to the UnSub? He tried not to let it show that it phased him much as he left the room, moving downstairs as Morgan dragged out a very unwilling William, the man shouting profanities as he was forced out the house and into a police car.

Spencer tensed at the sound of William's voice, and Aaron fingered his hands through Spencer's hair and whispered soothing nothings to him in an attempt to calm him as paramedics rushed over to the two of them. They attempted to take Spencer from Aaron's arms, and Aaron was more than willing to let him go so that he could receive medical treatment, but as soon as the paramedics came within arm's reach Spencer tightened his grasp and refused to budge, burying his face farther in the crook of Aaron's neck. The female paramedic offered Aaron a slight smile before retracting her hands, the man next to her doing the same a few moments later as he caught on to their slight predicament.

"Agent Hotchner, can you please follow us to the ambulance? We need to check his injuries and make sure there's nothing life-threatening." The female paramedic said and Aaron nodded before he was lead outside and to the ambulance, Aaron doing his best to shield Spencer from the police car that he knew the boy's relative was inside of, as he was trying to keep the young child from seeing his abuser any more. He said he was going to protect Spencer, and he meant that. As long as he was around he was going to do his best to ensure that the boy was kept safe and that William was far, far away from him.

As soon as they were sitting down the paramedics began looking over at the boy, and Aaron situated Spencer on his lap to allow them easier access. "So Spencer, how long have you been trapped inside there?" Aaron asked as he attempted to keep Spencer distracted while the paramedics did their required poking and prodding, and from the grim looks on their faces, he didn't like what they were discovering.

Spencer appeared to be pondering over the question for a moment, and he didn't even seem to be registering the paramedics or what they were doing to him. "The house? I've been there all my life." Spencer said as he glanced towards the house, and from the outside, it appeared as though it were perfect (although it's interior and the people inside it quickly ruined it's "perfection"). Spencer then pulled away from the paramedics and curled more into Aaron, as though he were seeking comfort or something of the sort. "I miss my mom." He murmured quietly, turning back around in Aaron's lap and burying his face in Aaron's neck once more. Before Aaron could wonder what happened to his mother and where she was, the paramedics both looked to him, immediately grabbing his attention.

"We need to get him to the hospital. He's got several broken bones, he's severely dehydrated, and from the look of some of these bruises there may be some internal bleeding. Ethan get the gurney." The female paramedic said, and at this Spencer tensed, and Aaron instinctively began rubbing his hand up and down the boy's back in soothing circles, though he didn't know what had frightened the boy since he doubted that he understand what was happening around him.

"It's okay Spencer, you're just going to lie down for them so that they can get you to the hospital. They won't hurt you, I promise." Aaron said as the gurney came over, and Aaron stood and went to help the boy onto the gurney, although when Aaron went to put him down, Spencer immediately wrapped his limbs tightly around Aaron and refused to let him go. "Come on buddy, you have to let me go. They need to transport you to the hospital, and they can't do that if you're holding onto me. I'll be with you the entire time, I'm not going anywhere." Aaron said, and Spencer tightened his hold before rapidly shaking his head, a whimper falling from his lips.

Eventually, Aaron gave an exasperated look towards the paramedics, and they glanced at each other before both sighing softly. "Please just lie down on the gurney too Agent Hotchner. We'll just have to strap both of you." The woman said and Aaron nodded, being strapped to the gurney just moments later.

As they were rolled into the ambulance, Spencer began to panic. His entire body tensed and Aaron noticed that his breathing began to speed up as they started driving, the loud sirens surrounding them, although the paramedics paid no mind as they began to hook him up to an I.V. The needle as well as the loud noise must've been a trigger for Spencer, as he began thrashing around wildly and screaming something, although Aaron was unable to make it out.

Aaron tried to speak soothing words to Spencer in order to calm him down, but his words fell on deaf ears as Spencer began trying to rip the I.V out of his skin, causing the paramedics to spring into action. They immediately began filling a needle with clear liquid (a sedative Aaron knew) and injected it into the boy's I.V drip. Aaron watched as Spencer began to stop thrashing, his screams dying in his throat as he struggled to fight for consciousness, although not even a minute had passed before he was out, as though he had never been awake in the first place. Aaron sighed in relief and finally asked himself the question that had been weighing on his mind since he had found Spencer. Where was Angela?

…

"Aaron Hotchner?" Aaron looked up from where he sat in the waiting room of the hospital, standing up as the doctor approached him. Whilst Spencer was in the hospital he had received a report from Derek and David. They had found Angela and had made it just in the nick of time as well. She was in the hospital as well and since none of her injuries were life-threatening or needed surgery, she was being released later on in the day. He had also received a change of clothes and his bloodstained ones were in a plastic bag that the hospital had given to him.

The rest of the team was down by the station packing their things up before they headed back to the hotel, but Aaron figured that Spencer would need someone to be there when he woke up, so he decided to be that someone. "How is he doctor?" Aaron asked once the doctor came close enough, and the doctor held a grim expression on his face that made Aaron hold his breath in silent anticipation.

"He's in bad condition, but he'll make a full recovery. He's suffered from severe dehydration, a bone fracture in his left foot, two fractured and one completely broken rib, malnutrition, and severe bruising. There's also some signs of sexual abuse, as there were several bite marks covering him, as well as anal tearing and semen on and inside of him. We're currently running a DNA test on both the bite marks and the semen and we should receive hits on them by tonight. He's sleeping for now and should be for a few more hours, but you're more than welcome to visit him at this time." The doctor said before walking off to talk to the other people in the waiting room, and Aaron was left in shock. He had seen some grim things working in the FBI, but he still couldn't fathom how someone could do this to a child. He could feel the disgust churning in his stomach, although he quickly suppressed it and began heading back to Spencer's room.

He pulled out his phone and called David, wanting to update the team on the current situation. "Rossi." He heard the older male answer, and he sounded preoccupied with something.

"Rossi, the kid's just gotten out of surgery, although he'll still be sleeping for a while longer. I'm going to stay here until he wakes up and see if he's up to answer some questions." He said, and he head Rossi make a noise of confirmation. "Where are you guys?" Aaron asked a moment later, needing to know the whereabouts of his team.

"Prentiss and I are heading back to the hotel and packing up. Morgan and JJ are heading your way with some food." Rossi said, and they briefly discussed their plans for a few more minutes before Aaron hung up. He ran a hand through his hair as he pocketed his phone, feeling exhausted by the events that had transpired over the last few hours.

As he entered the room, his eyes immediately landed on the small form dwarfed by the hospital bed. He pulled up a chair and sat beside the boy, looking over him with a grim expression. The nurses had cleaned him up and he was wearing the hospital gown that all patients were. Aaron was able to see his pale white skin and brown hair, not having been able to tell the color of either because of how dirty he had been. His soft brown hair curled in tufts around his face, and he was so still that Aaron would've thought the child was comatose, or even worse dead if he didn't know any better.

He didn't know how long he just sat like looking at Spencer, but it only felt like a few minutes had passed before the door to the room opened, revealing Derek and JJ. With them, they carried Chinese take-out, and as the smell wafted into the room Aaron's stomach growled, causing him to realize just how hungry he was. "Thank you," Aaron said as the box of lo mein was handed to him, and he immediately opened it and began to eat it.

He watched as JJ looked over at the injured, sleeping boy, and her face fell for a few moments as she looked him over. He knew that seeing Spencer probably reminded him of Henry since the two appeared to be about the same age. "What are his injuries?" She asked after a few moments of tense silence, and Aaron looked up at her with a look in his eye that said 'do you really want to know?'. After a few moments and seeing how determined she was he sighed softly, lowering the box of take-out in his lap.

"He's got a couple of broken ribs, he's dehydrated and suffers from malnutrition, his left foot is broken, there's severe bruising, and there are signs of sexual abuse." Aaron said, and he watched as JJ's face fell some more. Morgan cleared his throat lightly, as though trying to cut through the tense silence in the room.

"I'll never be able to understand how people can do this to a child." JJ said, and Aaron nodded his head in agreement, although he didn't say anything, but he also knew that he didn't have to.

While Aaron had been waiting on Spencer to come out of surgery, Garcia had found out everything that he could about the child. There was nothing on him besides his birth certificate and one trip to the hospital three years after he was born. He was the son of William Reid and Diana Lynch, and according to his birth certificate, he was already eight years old and turning nine in just a few short months.

Aaron couldn't believe it at first considering the fact that Spencer was the same size as Henry, who was half of Spencer's age. Besides that birth certificate and that trip to the hospital when he was three, there was no record of Spencer Reid. No pictures, no school record, nothing. It was baffling how there was almost no record of him, but Aaron wasn't surprised for very long once he remembered the condition he found the child in.

He wanted to murder William for what he had done. The fact that he did such despicable things, to his son nonetheless. It made Aaron burn with anger, but he knew that he had to contain himself, and the fact that he knew William was going to get punishment for his actions helped him to as well.

"Does he have any family to go to?" Morgan asked after a few moments, and Aaron glanced behind him and towards the door, where Morgan had remained standing beside, as though he were protecting the kid (and Aaron didn't blame him either). Aaron sighed once more and shook his head.

"There no-one. As far as the records show, Diana and that scum were his only family. Once he's released from the hospital, he'll probably become a victim to the foster system. God knows that they eat children like him alive." Aaron spoke grimly, not liking that fact that Spencer's future wasn't looking any brighter, despite having finally gotten away from his abuser. It pulled at Aaron's heartstrings to think of, and Aaron wondered how he could help the child, or if he could even help the child.

"Are you sure that there's nothing else that we can do for him?" JJ asked her gaze having not left the boy in the entire time she had been in the room.

"As of right now, we can't do anything besides making sure he makes a full recovery. And being there for him when he wakes up." Aaron said, and JJ nodded sadly before moving her bangs behind her ear and folding her arms over her chest.

"It's hard to accept that this kid's been through so much and there's nothing that we can do to help him, but it's the harsh reality and there's nothing that we can do to change that." Morgan said, and despite knowing it was the truth, Aaron didn't like hearing it. It just made things all the more real.

Aaron saw that JJ appeared to be getting ready to say something, although they all stopped once Spencer began to stir awake.


	2. Chapter 2

Aaron watched as Spencer began the seemingly hard fight for consciousness, his hands twitching and his eyes moving rapidly underneath his eyelashes. All three of the team members then watched as Spencer's brow wrinkled before he slowly began to open his eyes, his eyes immediately landing on JJ, who was standing at the foot of his bed. Aaron could see the panic on the child's face from where he sat by the side of the bed, and he immediately put the half-empty box of take-out on the floor before scooting closer to the panicking boy. "Hey buddy, how are you feeling?" Aaron asked gently, immediately directing the boy's attention to him and watching as the boy's panic slowly dispersed as a look of recognition appeared. "Are you in any pain?" He asked a few moments later, and Spencer slowly began to shake his head.

"Wh-where am I?" Spencer asked, his voice sounding small and weak, weaker than it had before. As soon as he finished speaking, he winced and his hand moved up to his throat, and Aaron glanced behind him and towards Morgan, seeing that the other was already moving. In the same minute, Aaron was being handed an unopened bottle of water, and he opened it quickly before handing it to Spencer. The child looked cautious to drink it, as though he thought that it was poisonous or something of the sort, but after glancing between Aaron and the bottle a few times, he began taking tentative (but much needed) sips.

"You're in a hospital now, I told you that I'd protect you didn't I?" Aaron said, and Spencer nodded his head, attempting to sit up a few moments later, although he failed and ended up stopping with a slight wince and a flash of pain taking over his features for a few moments. "Spencer, you shouldn't move around so much. You're very badly hurt, and the doctors want you to stay as still as possible so that you can get better soon." Aaron said, trying to be careful with his wording so that the child could understand him, whilst also trying not to upset him and cause him to panic more. It would be good for the child to understand that he was in a hospital and that he was now safe, but he also didn't want to scare the child in the process. It was actually the last thing that he wanted to do.

"I'm… Dehydrated right? And emaciated, severely bruised, I've got a broken foot, and some of my ribs are broken, right? That-that's what the paramedic said at least…" He said trailing off as he played with his hands, and Aaron stared in shock at the boy. Had he really been able to understand and process everything that the paramedic had said? Since the child had almost no records, they doubted that he had any sort of education and assumed that he would be a bit slower than most his age. Yet the way he spoke about his injuries proved that he had understood the woman's words and had remembered them enough to recite them almost verbatim. That proved that the child had received some sort of education.

"Yes… That's right, and because of these injuries you'll have to stay here for a while so that the doctors can be sure that everything will be okay." Aaron said, still treading carefully with his words.

"What about my mom? Did you guys find her yet?" Spencer asked, and Aaron looked to JJ and Morgan, who appeared to be as equally confused as he was.

"I didn't receive a report on anyone else being inside the house." Aaron said as he turned his gaze to JJ once more, since she was the easiest to look at out of the two.

"There was no one else. It was just him, William, and Angela inside that house." JJ said, and Aaron nodded his head in affirmation. He believed her, but he also didn't think that this kid would be talking about his mom still being inside the house if she weren't there. It would be too strange of a thing for any kid to lie about, especially for a child raised like Spencer.

"Spencer, do you know where she is inside the house?" Aaron asked, and the young boy nodded his head.

"She's inside the floorboards of the living room… Dad put her in there a few years ago and she's been there ever since." Spencer spoke slowly and sadly, and immediate alarms were ringing inside Aaron's head. William had been hiding the victim's bodies inside the house? How was Diana there though? Her body had been discovered a week after she died, there was no way that- oh. Aaron suddenly remembered that Diana's body had been headless when they discovered her. That must've been what was in the floorboards. A chill went down his spine at the fact that an eight-year-old knew that the head of his deceased mother was inside of the floorboards of the place that he lived and slept every night. "I wanted to get her out, but I'm hardly ever allowed in the living room so I couldn't. Can you get her for me?" He asked, his big, brown eyes looking up at Aaron, and it seemed as though the child was asking for a toy instead of his mother's head. Aaron could hear Morgan sigh softly to himself, and he didn't blame him either. No one should ever have to ask for this.

"Yeah buddy, we'll get her for you." He said, his voice coming out a bit sadder than he intended for it to. "JJ, Morgan, you two head back to the police department and interrogate Reid. I want to know if he has any other bodies hidden anywhere. I'm calling Rossi to update him on the new information and have him get Diana." Aaron said, and immediately the two nodded before leaving the room. Aaron then pulled out his phone and stood up to step out the room, not wanting Spencer to hear the conversation that he knew was going to end up being terribly morbid (although most things in this field of work were).

"Where are you going? Please don't leave." Spencer said, and Aaron turned around to smile at the boy, his hand hovering over the call button.

"I'll be right on the other side of the door, I'm not going anywhere." He said, and immediately Spencer began fervently shaking his head, his brown locks flying everywhere as he did so.

"I don't like it when you leave. Please don't go." Spencer pleaded with large puppy eyes, and Aaron sighed before giving in, sitting back down in the chair next to Spencer's bed. As he looked at the boy's small smile, he couldn't help but feel like Spencer knew exactly what he was doing, but he also couldn't help but smile back at him, one of his eyebrows raised. He then glanced down at his phone and decided to just send Rossi a text, telling him the situation, his orders, and the reason as to why he had to do it over text instead of over the phone like he usually did. It was a mere few moments before he got a response (part of which teased him for beginning to grow attached to the kid enough to take orders from him), and afterward, he put his phone back into his pocket, glancing up to see Spencer staring at him.

"Will you be with me the whole time I'm here?" Spencer suddenly asked, and Aaron was once again left surprised at the child's sudden question. He honestly didn't know whether or not he would, as they had more cases back home, and he usually wasn't supposed to stay with the victim for long after a case had been completed (there was no actual protocol or rule against it, but it had kind of just become an unspoken thing between the team after a while). All that he did know was that he didn't want to make promises with the child that he didn't know whether or not he'd be able to keep.

However, before he could even open his mouth to answer, a male nurse entered the room, carrying what appeared to be a needle and a clipboard. Aaron looked over curiously, his entire body tensed, as he hadn't expected anyone to walk into the room. He wondered if they were supposed to be giving him more medication so soon, as it had only been an hour or so since the child had even woken up. What did they need to pump into him now that they couldn't have done whilst he was asleep? Spencer watched the nurse with large, fearful eyes as he came over and began to connect the needle to the child's I.V. "What is that?" Spencer asked cautiously as he pushed himself up a bit, although this time Aaron didn't say anything about it. Instead, he kept his gaze on the nurse who rang multiple warning bells in Aaron's head. He knew that the man appeared to be suspicious, although why he wasn't able to tell. Perhaps it was because he didn't see many male nurses, or maybe it was because of the bored look on his face (his patient was a child, Aaron was sure that the man was supposed to at least try to be friendly towards him).

"Just some carbenicillin." The male nurse spoke without glancing up, his voice as dull and monotone as his face was. It was almost as if he were talking to an adult instead of an eight-year-old. Aaron then noticed that Spencer's face immediately paled, and Spencer reached forward to stop the nurse's hands, although his attempts did nothing what with being weaker and much smaller than the man. Aaron then watched with furrowed brows as he leaned forward in his chair, ready to leap into action if he needed to, although he hoped that wouldn't be the case.

"I can't have carbenicillin. I'm severely allergic to beta-lactams! I could die from it!" Spencer sharply cried out, desperately pulling at his I.V when his attempts to stop the nurse's hands were proving futile. He looked to Aaron with a panicked expression and teary eyes before suddenly kicking his casted foot at the nurse, sending the needle and the clipboard to the ground with a loud bang. Aaron immediately stood up at Spencer's outburst, and as the nurse bent down to grab the knocked down materials, Aaron could see a gun in the waistband of his pants, causing him to immediately unholster his own and point it towards the man. He then inwardly cursed when he remembered that his handcuffs were in his bag along with his clothes and that he had left his bag by the door, which was too far away to grab and then walk back to handcuff the man.

"Put your hands in the air!" Aaron shouted loudly, and the man froze before slowly reaching for the gun in his waistband. Spencer had successfully ripped out his I.V and had scrambled to get behind Aaron, holding on tightly to the back of his shirt. Despite Aaron not wanting the child up and disturbing his injuries, he also knew that Spencer was safer behind him than he was in the bed, where he was in reach of the imposter of a nurse. "Don't even think about it. You'll be dead before you even touch your gun." Aaron warned, and the man's hands immediately flew up and above his head, and he turned around with a panicked expression plastered on his face. That was good, the very last thing that Spencer needed to see was another dead body.

Plus, a bastard that was willing to kill a child wasn't worthy of such a merciful death as being shot, he deserved to rot in prison until he slowly died a much more painful death (after all, prisoners hated those who were in jail for hurting a child. Those prisoners always received "special" treatment from the others). Aaron took a few steps forward and pressed the button on the side of Spencer's bed to alert a real nurse to come, and moments later one was walking through the door, oblivious to the entire situation. "Mr. Hotch- oh my god!" The nurse cried out (most likely at the sight of someone being held at gunpoint), and Aaron hardly glanced at her, not wanting to take his eyes off the armed man and risk anyone being hurt.

"Please go get security and have this man arrested and interrogated as quickly as possible." Aaron said, and when he glanced behind him a few moments later the nurse was gone, meaning that she had done what she was told. At least he hoped so. He briefly noted that Spencer was trembling harshly against his side, and he wanted to comfort the boy, but he couldn't do that as long as this man was here, so he'd have to wait. Luckily for him, two security guards and the same nurse from earlier came in a few short minutes later and arrested the imposter, causing Aaron to sigh in relief as he put his gun away, his arms having begun to get tired and the man probably having begun to grow bolder as the time passed.

When security left with the man it was just Aaron, the nurse, and Spencer left in the hospital room, and the latter was still trembling harshly against Aaron's side, seeming unaware of what was transpiring around him. Immediately, Aaron picked up Spencer and began rubbing soothing circles in the small child's back. He then sat down carefully on the edge of the hospital bed, Spencer burying his head in the crook of Aaron's neck, and his feet on either side of Aaron's legs. The child clutched his shirt tightly, slight whimpers falling from his lips, although he didn't cry, and Aaron could tell that he was holding back from how harshly his body was shaking. "Hey buddy, it's okay. He's gone now, don't worry. Besides, I wouldn't have let him do anything to you. I'm your protector remember. No one will hurt you while I'm here, okay?" Aaron said as he ran his fingers through Spencer's soft hair, slowly rocking the two of them back and forth as he did his best to calm the frightened child.

Spencer continued to sniffle and shake harshly, but he refused to let any of his tears fall, as if he were just as afraid of crying as he was of the nurse. Aaron didn't understand why he suddenly didn't want to cry though, as he had cried when Aaron had picked him up the first time and carried him out the room. "Spencer, it's okay to cry you know. Everyone cries sometimes, you don't have to hold it in." Aaron said gently encouraging him not to hold back, and as though a dam had been released, Spencer started to cry. Loud sobs wracked his small body and Aaron felt his shirt being soaked with tears and snot (reminding him of when he had first found the boy mere hours ago).

Spencer didn't stop crying for a long time, and Aaron continued to whisper soothing nothings into his ear, remaining patient and gentle towards the child. Eventually, he had run out of energy, and he had cried himself into a deep sleep that Aaron was sure that he needed. Just then, the nurse cleared her throat and Aaron glanced up, having completely forgotten about her being in the room. She had a small smile on her face, and Aaron was glad that she had been patient and quiet while Spencer cried. "Is he your son?" She asked him quietly as Aaron stood, going to put the child properly back on the bed so that he could sleep more comfortably.

"No, but I'm kind of taking care of him for right now." Aaron said just as quietly as the nurse came over to re-insert the I.V into Spencer's hand as gently as she could. "Do you think you could have a guard posted outside of this room from now on? I don't want anything like this to happen again." Aaron said, and the nurse immediately nodded her head.

"Of course, I'll get that done as soon as I leave. I just want to check and make sure that nothing re-opened while he was crying." She said, and Aaron watched as she briefly checked over him for injuries. "It's so sad to see all of these injuries on a child. What happened to him?" She asked Aaron sadly, and he sighed softly.

"His father was abusive." Was all he said, as he didn't want to dive into the details of everything at the moment. It would be a hell of a lot to explain. Luckily for him, the nurse seemed to think that explanation was all that she needed, and she nodded her head before turning it back down to look at the boy.

"Did you guys catch him?" She asked moments later, and Aaron nodded his head. "Good. I hope he gets put away for a long time." She said as she looked at Aaron with anger in her eyes, although Aaron knew that it wasn't directed towards him.

"Same here." He agreed, and it was silent for a few moments before the nurse began moving again.

"Well, I've got some things to attend to. I'll be back, later on, to check on him and make sure that he's comfortable." She said before leaving, closing the door gently behind her. Aaron stood up from where he had been sitting on the edge of the bed, although before he could even take a step away, a small hand was reaching out towards him and pulling at his shirt.

"Don't go." Spencer pleaded, sleep heavy in his eyes as he looked up at Aaron. He wondered what could've woken the child as he sat back down, a small smile on his face.

"I'm not going anywhere." Aaron promised, and Spencer pouted lightly.

"Lay down here then." He said before moving over in the bed a bit before patting the empty space next to him as though the bed was originally intended for two people instead of one. Aaron chuckled to himself before he sighed and got into the bed, being careful not to disturb the boy too much. As soon as he had stopped moving, Spencer basically pounced onto his chest, curling into a small ball with practically his entire body on Aaron. Before Aaron could even think of protesting, the boy's breathing evened out again, and he knew that he was stuck, both figuratively and literally. "Goodnight Spencer." He whispered quietly before kissing the top of the child's head and relaxing himself, since it wasn't like he was able to move. He guessed that he wasn't going to be able to finish his take-out as he had originally planned. Oh well. Food could wait, especially something as simple as take-out. After the events that transpired, he didn't feel hungry anymore (though who would after a child had just almost been killed?).


End file.
